Burglaries rise — and only 10% are solved

A burglary occurs in Oldham every three hours — and only one in 10 is solved.

The figures include burglaries of houses and thefts from sheds, garages or other buildings.

The data shows there were 2,961 burglaries in Oldham in the year to March - eight a day, the second-highest figure in Greater Manchester. Top was Manchester on 7,857 incidents.

Combined figures for Oldham show an increase, with 2,204 in 2012-2013, 2,303 2013-2014 and 2,747 so far this year.

Supt Denise Worth of Oldham Division said: “Burglary is taken very seriously and is always considered as a priority as the effect on victims can be devastating and extremely traumatic.”

Almost nine in every 10 burglary cases are closed without a suspect being identified.

But Insp Mark Davis of Oldham Division said: “While the number was high, burglary represented a low percentage of overall crime in the borough.”

Vehicles are broken into at an average of one every three hours and 37 minutes.